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Mobile computing

Mobile computing is a generic term describing one's ability to use technology while
moving, as opposed to portable computers, which are only practical for use while
deployed in a stationary configuration.

Many types of mobile computers have been introduced since the 1990s, including the:

• Wearable computer
• Personal digital assistant/Enterprise digital assistant
• Smart Phone
• Carputer
• UMPC

SERVICES OF MOBILE COMPUTING

Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP) is a specification published for the use of
Java on embedded devices such as mobile phones and PDAs. MIDP is part of the
Java Platform, Micro Edition (Java ME) framework and sits on top of Connected
Limited Device Configuration, a set of lower level programming inter MIDP 2.0). As
of 2007, MIDP 3.0 is being developed under JSR 271. The first MIDP devices were
models i80s and i50sx from Motorola, launched in April 2001.faces. MIDP was
developed under the Java Community Process as JSR 37 (MIDP 1.0) and JSR 118 (

A personal digital assistant (PDA) is a handheld computer also known as small or


palmtop computers. Newer PDAs also have both color screens and audio capabilities,
enabling them to be used as mobile phones, (smartphones), web browsers, or portable
media players. Many PDAs can access the Internet, intranets or extranets via Wi-Fi,
or Wireless Wide-Area Networks (WWANs).
SPECIFICATION OF MOBILE COMPUTING

Typical features

Currently, a typical PDA has a touch screen for entering data, a memory card slot for
data storage and at least one of the following for connectivity: IrDA, Bluetooth and/or
WiFi. However, many PDAs (typically those used primarily as telephones) may not
have a touch screen, using softkeys, a directional pad and either the numeric keypad
or a thumb keyboard for input.

Software typically required to be a PDA includes an appointment calendar, a to-do


list, an address book for contacts and some sort of note program. Connected PDAs
also typically include E-mail and Web support.

Touch screen

Many original PDAs, such as the Apple Newton and Palm Pilot, featured touch
screens for user interaction, having only a few buttons usually reserved for shortcuts
to often used programs. Touch screen PDAs, including Windows Pocket PC devices,
usually have a detachable stylus that can be used on the touch screen. Interaction is
then done by tapping the screen to activate buttons or menu choices, and dragging the
stylus to, for example, highlight. Text input is usually done in one of four ways:

Using a virtual keyboard, where a keyboard is shown on the touch screen. Input is
done by tapping letters on the screen.

PDAs for business use, including the BlackBerry and Treo, have full keyboards and
scroll wheels or thumb wheels to facilitate data entry and navigation, in addition to
supporting touch-screen input. There are also full-size foldable keyboards available
that plug directly, or use wireless technology to interface with the PDA and allow for
normal typing. BlackBerry has additional functionality, such as push-based email and
applications.

Newer PDAs, such as the Apple iPhone and iPod touch include new user interfaces
using other means of input. The iPhone and iPod touch uses a technology called
Multi-touch.
Memory cards

Although many early PDAs did not have memory card slots now most have either an
SD (Secure Digital) and/or a Compact Flash slot. Although originally designed for
memory, SDIO and Compact Flash cards are available for such things as Wi-Fi and
Webcams. Some PDAs also have a USB port, mainly for USB flash drives.

Wired connectivity

While many earlier PDAs connected via serial ports or other proprietary format,
many today connect via USB cable. This served primarily to connect to a computer,
and few, if any PDAs were able to connect to each other out of the box using cables,
as USB requires one machine to act as a host - functionality which was not often
planned. Some PDAs were able to connect to the internet, either by means of one of
these cables, or by using an extension card with an ethernet port/RJ-45 adaptor.

Wireless connectivity

Most modern PDAs have Bluetooth wireless connectivity, an increasingly popular


tool for mobile devices. It can be used to connect keyboards, headsets, GPS and many
other accessories, as well as sending files between PDAs. Many mid-range and
superior PDAs have Wi-Fi/WLAN/802.11-connectivity, used for connecting to Wi-Fi
hotspots or wireless networks. Older PDAs predominantly have an IrDA (infrared)
port; however fewer current models have the technology, as it is slowly being phased
out due to support for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. IrDA allows communication between two
PDAs: a PDA and any device with an IrDA port or adapter. Most universal PDA
keyboards use infrared technology because many older PDAs have it, and infrared
technology is low-cost and has the advantage of being permitted aboard aircraft.
FREQUENCIES OF MOBILE COMPUTING

Universal wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi vs Wi-Max

Wi-Fi

The Wi-Fi wireless Internet access sites that exist now are growing in number and
being upgraded to handle much more throughput, but an alternate method of Internet
access, Wi-Max, is evolving. Wi-Max definitely will not be free; it might even stifle
the growth of free access.

Wi-Fi wireless Internet access available today is only possible when situated near a
“hot spot” — a wireless router. Hot spots tend to be in coffee shops (think Starbucks),
casual restaurants, bookstores, copy shops, airport waiting areas and hotel lobbies.

Wi-Fi usually has a range of about 300 feet, although some routers provide a range of
up to 1,000 feet. Wi-Fi uses an unlicensed portion of the broadcast spectrum and
sometimes results in interference between Wi-Fi devices and other wireless devices
using those frequencies (like portable telephones).

There are no official Wi-Fi standards. The throughput rate of Wi-Fi is less than most
cable-modem circuits and digital subscriber lines (DSLs). Although the throughput is
OK for most uses, it can be limiting when transmitting large files.

WiMAX

Hundreds of local governments are planning to build and operate hot spots that use a
new protocol called Wi-Max, which operates over a 30-mile range at speeds six to
seven times faster than Wi-Fi. The longer range means that only a few routers would
be needed to handle an entire city, making Wi-Max relatively affordable.

Wi-Max will make wireless real-time video an in-focus, jitter-free reality, and
eliminate errors in data transmission and interference with other devices. Consumers
will be allowed to access the Net free of charge, in exchange for tolerating advertising
like pop-ups. Look for Wi-Max hot spots and computing devices in 2007.
Cell networks to compete with Wi-Max

Nonetheless, cell carriers would like to ramp up a wireless money-making alternate to


Wi-Max. Carriers are planning to upgrade their entire networks to reliably and
securely work at real broadband speeds, and seamlessly “hand off” a data signal from
one cell tower to another. Some carriers have already started to do so, but a complete
upgrade is a big task in terms of technology, time and investment, so universal access
to broadband cell networks is a few years away.

Although this will cost more than wireless phone calls, businesses will benefit from
broadband cell networks because employees who work outside an office will be able
to use lap tops and other devices to instantly access data, do calculations and print
documents that now require a visit to the office..
Wireless PDA-sized PCs

Although some PDAs can currently be used to wirelessly access the Internet, the
traditional laptop is the device most frequently used today. Unfortunately, it cannot be
stored in a coat pocket.

Truly mobile computing requires truly portable devices. No, not cell phones with TV-
like screens and keyboards that can only be used with pinkies, but true wireless PCs
with keyboards that can be used with all ten fingers. One current style looks like a
sizeable clamshell cell phone. Open it up, and the bottom half of the clamshell
contains half the keyboard, with the other half on the body of the device.

Another style looks like a small LCD screen (4.9-inches long by 3.4-inches wide),
until the screen is slid open like a double patio door to reveal a 1-inch-thick base
containing a keyboard, stick and mouse buttons, digital pen and thumbwheel. It
contains a 1GHz processor, a 20GB hard drive, 256MB of RAM, and FireWire and
USB ports; all weighing only 14 ounces. Both styles come equipped with Microsoft
Office and are true business-oriented PCs.
EXPLAINING INTERNET TECHNOLOGY AND SERVICES

VOIP

VoIP is transmission of voice through the Internet or other packet-switched networks.


often used abstractly to refer to the actual transmission of voice (rather than the
protocolimplementing it). VoIP allows users to use regular telephone networks
anywhere through any internet service provider, and avoids issues on long distance
charges that are normally subject to callers. This latter concept is also referred to as IP
telephony, Internet telephony, voice over broadband, broadband telephony, and
broadband phone.

VoIP providers may be viewed as commercial realizations of the experimental


Network Voice Protocol (1973) invented for the ARPANET providers. VoIP can be a
great benefit to major corporations trying to cut costs by simply running network
cables. Although it requires those using VoIP to have a well configured network it is
a new use of IP that is extremely cost efficient. Skype and Vonage are great examples
of how VoIP is being greatly utilized world wide.

Voice-over-IP systems carry telephony signals as digital audio, typically reduced in


data rate using speech data compression techniques, encapsulated in a data-packet
stream over IP.
BLOG

A blog (a contraction of the term "Web log") is a Web site, usually maintained by an
individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other
material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-
chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add
content to a blog.

Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as


more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other
blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave
comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are
primarily textual, although some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog),
sketches (sketchblog), videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), audio (podcasting), which
are part of a wider network of social media. Micro-blogging is another type of
blogging, one which consists of blogs with very short posts. As of December 2007,
blog search engine Technorati was tracking more than 112 million blogs.With the
advent of video blogging, the word blog has taken on an even looser meaning — that
of any bit of media wherein the subject expresses his opinion or simply talks about
something.

EXPLAINING TYPES OF NETWORK

Personal Area Network

A personal area network (PAN) is a computer network used for communication


among computer devices (including telephones and personal digital assistants) close
to one person. The devices may or may not belong to the person in question. The
reach of a PAN is typically a few meters. PANs can be used for communication
among the personal devices themselves (intrapersonal communication), or for
connecting to a higher level network and the Internet (an uplink).

Personal area networks may be wired with computer buses such as USB and
FireWire. A wireless personal area network (WPAN) can also be made possible with
network technologies such as IrDA, Bluetooth, UWB, Z-Wave and ZigBee.
VPN

A virtual private network (VPN) is a computer network in which some of the links
between nodes are carried by open connections or virtual circuits in some larger
network (e.g., the Internet) instead of by physical wires. The link-layer protocols of
the virtual network are said to be tunneled through the larger network when this is the
case. One common application is secure communications through the public Internet,
but a VPN need not have explicit security features, such as authentication or content
encryption. VPNs, for example, can be used to separate the traffic of different user
communities over an underlying network with strong security features.

A VPN may have best-effort performance, or may have a defined service level
agreement (SLA) between the VPN customer and the VPN service provider.
Generally, a VPN has a topology more complex than point-to-point.

Wireless LAN

A wireless LAN or WLAN is a wireless local area network, which is the linking of
two or more computers or devices without using wires. WLAN uses spread-spectrum
or OFDM modulation technology based on radio waves to enable communication
between devices in a limited area, also known as the basic service set. This gives
users the mobility to move around within a broad coverage area and still be connected
to the network.

For the home user, wireless has become popular due to ease of installation, and
location freedom with the gaining popularity of laptops. Public businesses such as
coffee shops or malls have begun to offer wireless access to their customers; some are
even provided as a free service.
WiMAX

WiMAX, an approximate acronym of Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave


Access, is a telecommunications technology that provides for the wireless
transmission of data using a variety of transmission modes, from point-to-point links
to full mobile cellular-type access. The technology provides upto 70 Mb/sec
symmetric broadband speed without the need for cables. The technology is based on
the IEEE 802.16 standard (also called WirelessMAN). The name "WiMAX" was
created by the WiMAX Forum, which was formed in June 2001 to promote
conformity and interoperability of the standard. The forum describes WiMAX as "a
standards-based technology enabling the delivery of last mile wireless broadband
access as an alternative to cable and DSL"[1] (and also to High Speed Packet
Access).[

CONCLUSION

The world of personal computing is becoming more connected. The advent of the World
Wide Web has caused an explosive growth in the population of Internet users. Everyday
new members join the network community. It is changing the way we work, the way we
think. Everyday one reads another story about the ``global network'' and the way it is
changing the world. Major computer companies have built entire advertising campaigns
around this very idea, and the future promise of bringing it about. Providing on-line
services to the home user has become a multi-million dollar business.

The world of computing is becoming more mobile. Mobile computers are becoming
smaller and more powerful everyday. However, people do not want to give up
connectivity for mobility.

REFERENCES

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_computing
• www.zslinc.com/mobile_computing_services.htm
• www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~nd/surprise_96/journal/vol4/vk5/report.html

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